What books are similar to The Last Straw?

The 10 closest matches to The Last Straw by Jeff Kinney on ReadingList include The Best School Year Ever, Rodrick Rules, Diary of a Wimpy Kid, How to Eat Fried Worms, and Ramona Quimby, Age 8. Each is scored on shared themes (family, school, and humor), shared award lists, genre, and reading level (grades 4–7), and links to the curricula, states, and grades where it is assigned in US schools, with primary sources.

Are books like The Last Straw reading-level appropriate?

Yes — every match is a reading-level match, not just a topical one, scored on Lexile and grade band (grades 4–7), so the picks stay grade-appropriate. See how ReadingList judges text difficulty on the /standard methodology page.

How does ReadingList choose similar books?

Matches are ranked by shared themes, shared award and reading-program lists (two books picked for the same state award were chosen by the same committees for the same readers), same genre, comparable Lexile and grade band, and publication decade — computed from cited public curriculum data, not editorial opinion or AI-generated summaries.

Books like The Last Straw

If you liked The Last Straw, read The Best School Year Ever, Rodrick Rules, or Diary of a Wimpy Kid — the closest matches in our database, matched on shared themes and reading level.

Looking for books like The Last Straw by Jeff Kinney (Humor · grades 4–7)? It’s most often read for its themes of family, school, and humor. The 10 titles below are the closest matches in the ReadingList database — each scored on shared themes, genre, and reading level, and each linked to the curricula, states, and grades where it’s assigned, with primary sources.

These are reading-level matches, not just topical ones — so the picks stay grade-appropriate for a grades 4–7 reader. See how we judge text difficulty on our methodology page.

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Why each is a match

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The Best School Year Evergrades 3–6: Shares themes of family, school, and humor, same genre (Humor), and overlapping grades (3–6). Amazon →
Rodrick Rulesgrades 4–7: Shares themes of school and humor, same genre (Humor), and overlapping grades (4–7). Amazon →
Diary of a Wimpy Kid950L: Shares themes of family, school, and humor and overlapping grades (3–7). Amazon →
How to Eat Fried Wormsgrades 3–6: Shares themes of school and humor, same genre (Humor), and overlapping grades (3–6). Amazon →
Ramona Quimby, Age 8860L: Shares themes of family, school, and humor and overlapping grades (3–5). Amazon →
Wayside School Is Falling Downgrades 3–5: Shares themes of school and humor, same genre (Humor), and overlapping grades (3–5). Amazon →
Big Nate: In a Class by Himself500L: Shares themes of school and humor and overlapping grades (4–7). Amazon →
Planet Omar: Accidental Trouble Magnet820L: Shares themes of family and school and overlapping grades (3–6). Amazon →
Sal and Gabi Break the Universegrades 4–7: Shares themes of family and humor and overlapping grades (4–7). Amazon →
The Legend of Rock Paper Scissorsgrades 2–8: Shares themes of humor, same genre (Humor), and overlapping grades (2–8). Amazon →

Books like The Last Straw for younger readers (K–2)

Closest matches whose grade range overlaps K–2— same scoring, different audience.

Geronimo Stilton: Lost Treasure of the Emerald Eye by Geronimo Stilton · 530L — Shares themes of family and humor and overlapping grades (2–5).
How Dinosaurs Went Extinct: A Safety Guide by Ame Dyckman · grades K–2 — Shares themes of family and humor.
Ivy and Bean by Annie Barrows · 580L — Shares themes of family and humor and overlapping grades (2–4).
Mercy Watson to the Rescue by Kate DiCamillo · 450L — Shares themes of family and humor.
Ramona the Pest by Beverly Cleary · 750L — Shares themes of family and school and overlapping grades (2–4).

Books like The Last Straw for elementary readers (grades 3–5)

Closest matches whose grade range overlaps 3–5— same scoring, different audience.

Chronicles of a Lizard Nobody by Patrick Ness · grades 4–8 — Shares themes of school and humor and overlapping grades (4–8).
Doña Quixote: Rise of the Knight by Rey Terciero · grades 3–6 — Shares themes of family and humor and overlapping grades (3–6).
Dork Diaries: Tales from a Not-So-Fabulous Life by Rachel Renée Russell · 890L — Shares themes of school and humor and overlapping grades (4–7).
Double Fudge by Judy Blume · grades 4–6 — Shares themes of family, same genre (Humor), and overlapping grades (4–6).
Ferris by Kate DiCamillo · grades 3–6 — Shares themes of family and humor and overlapping grades (3–6).

Books like The Last Straw for middle school (grades 6–8)

Closest matches whose grade range overlaps 6–8— same scoring, different audience.

Chronicles of a Lizard Nobody by Patrick Ness · grades 4–8 — Shares themes of school and humor and overlapping grades (4–8).
Confessions of a Class Clown by Arianne Costner · grades 6–8 — Shares themes of school and humor and overlapping grades (6–8).
Doña Quixote: Rise of the Knight by Rey Terciero · grades 3–6 — Shares themes of family and humor and overlapping grades (3–6).
Dork Diaries: Tales from a Not-So-Fabulous Life by Rachel Renée Russell · 890L — Shares themes of school and humor and overlapping grades (4–7).
Double Fudge by Judy Blume · grades 4–6 — Shares themes of family, same genre (Humor), and overlapping grades (4–6).

Books like The Last Straw for high school & teens (grades 9–12)

Closest matches whose grade range overlaps 9–12— same scoring, different audience.

Drums, Girls & Dangerous Pie by Jordan Sonnenblick · grades 6–9 — Shares themes of family and overlapping grades (6–9).
Long Way Down by Jason Reynolds · 720L — Shares themes of family and overlapping grades (7–12).
Refugee by Alan Gratz · 800L — Shares themes of family and overlapping grades (5–9).
Stuck in Neutral by Terry Trueman · grades 7–10 — Shares themes of family and overlapping grades (7–10).
The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas · 590L — Shares themes of family.

What to read after Diary of a Wimpy Kid

The Last Straw is book 3 of 12 in Jeff Kinney’s Diary of a Wimpy Kid series. Not done with the series yet? Follow the Diary of a Wimpy Kid reading order first — then come back for the matches above.

Book data last updated 2026-07-07. Matches are computed from each book’s cited attributes — see the methodology.

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